Studying another culture from its point of view without imposing our own cultural values.

Science

The method of inquiry that requires the generation, testing and acceptance or rejection of hypotheses

Scientific Method

The process of conducting scientific inquiry

Things found if hypothesis is correct

Repetition, Universality, Explanations for exceptions, New data

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for a natural phenomenon

Induction

The process of developing a general explanation from specific observations

Deduction

Suggesting specific data that would be found if a hypothesis were true

Theory

A general idea that explains a large set of factual patterns

Belief systems

Ideas that are taken on faith and cannot be scientifically tested

Indigenous

Native

Ethnography

A description of a cultural system based on fieldwork within that culture

Pseudoscience

Scientifically testable ideas that are taken on faith without scientific evidence to support them or even when tested and shown to be false

Evolution

In biology the idea that species change over time and have a common ancestry

Fossils

Remains of life forms of the past

Strata

Layers of rock and soil under the earth's surface

Stratigraphy

The study of the earth's surface

Catastrophism

The idea that the history of the earth and its life is accounted for by a series of global catastrophes

Uniformitarianism

Idea that present day geological processes can also explain the history of the earth. Can be applied to biological change as well. Comte de Buffon (french mid 1700's) Charles Lyll (Scottish mid 1800's)

Inheritance of acquired characteristics

the wrong idea that adaptive traits acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passed on to its offspring (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, french late 1700's)

Darwin, Beagle and Wallace

Darwin sailed on the Beagle in 1831. Wallace was tripping in a malaria fever and came up with an idea of natural selection sent the letter to Darwin who refined it and in 1859 wrote Origin of Species then in 1871 wrote Descent of Man applied to people

Natural Selection

Evolutionary change based on the differential reproductive success of individuals within a species

2 Remaining questions of Darwin

1. Didn't know HOW traits were passed from parents to offspring. 2. Didn't know WHERE variation came from

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)

Worked in monastary with pea plants and is father of genetics. Described laws of inheritance.

Genes

The portions of the DNA molecule that code for specific production of proteins

Alleles

Variants of a gene that code for different expressions of a trait.

Dominant

An allele that is expressed in a gene pair of unlike alleles

Recessive

An allele that is only expressed if present in a like gene pair

Phenotype

Chemical or physical results of the genetic code

Codominant

When both alleles of a gene pair are expressed in the phenotype

Genotypes

Alleles possessed by an organism

Homozygous

Having two of the same allele in a gene pair TT or tt

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles in a gene pair Tt

Asexually

Reproducing without sex by fissioning or budding

Gametes

Cells of reproduction, which contain only half the chromosomes of a normal cell

Mutation

Any spontaneous change in the genetic code

DNA

Molecule that carries the genetic code

Protiens

Molecules that make cells and carry out cellular functions

Amino Acids

Chief components of protiens

Genome

Total genetic endowment of an organism

RNA

Molecule that in two form translates and transcribes the genetic code into protiens and corrects mutations

Adapted

When an organism has physical traits and behaviors that allow it to survive in a particular environment

Ecology

Science that studies the network of relationships within environmental systems

Niche

Environment of an organism and its adaptive response to that environment

Habitat

Place occupied by a species

Ecosystem

A specific set of environmental relationships

Artificial Selection

Selection for reproductive success in plants and animals that is directed by humans. Also called selective breeding.

Gene Pool

All the alleles in a population

Chromosome

Strands of DNA in the nucleus of a cell

Gene Flow

Exchange of genes among populations through interbreeding

Genetic Drift

Genetic change based on random changes within a species' gene pool; includes fission and the founder effect, and gamete sampling

Fission

Here the splitting up of a population to form new populations

Founder Effect

Genetic differences between populations produced by the fact that genetically different individuals established the populations

Gamete Sampling

The genetic change caused when genes are passed to new generations in frequencies unlike those of the parental generation

Speciation

Evolution of a new species

Symbol

Something that stands for something else, with no necessary ling between the symbol and its meaning

Artifact

Any object consciously manufactured. Usually refers to human made objects but now includes those made by other primates

A behavior having most but not all of the characteristics of a cultural behavior

R-Complex

A primitive portion of the brain involved in self-preservation behaviors such as mating aggressiveness and territoriality

Limbic System

A portion of the brain involved in emotions such as fear, rage, and care for the young

Neocortex

A portion of the brain involved in conscious thought, spatial reasoning, and sensory perception

Society

A group of organisms living together in an ordered community. In the case of humans, a group with a shared culture.

Worldview

The collective interpretation of and response to the natural and cultural environments in which a group of people lives. Their assumptions about those environments and values derived from those assumptions.

Codify

To arrange systematically. To put into words and other symbols.

Monotheistic

Religious system that recognizes a single supernatural being

Historical Archaeology

Archaeology of a society that has written records

Ethnographic Analogy

Interpreting archaeological data through the observation of analogous activities in existing societies

Forensic Anthropology

A subfield of anthropology applied to legal matters. Usually involved in identifying skeletal remains and assessing the time and cause of death

Experimental Archaeology

The process of understanding ancient skills and technologies by reproducing them

Want to see the other 84 Flashcards in Anthropology Flashcards?JOIN TODAY FOR FREE!